BMW and M Power Owners

Comprehensive, £1279 a year with a £250 excess including breakdown. Pretty reasonable actually - I'll be paying more on my 7 :(

Edit - will likely be 20% cheaper on renewal, too.
That’s not bad. I thought the X7 has 7 series style/level interior? No doubt the leather and touch points will be high quality.

I test drove an X5M recently and that was a significant step up over my F80.
 
I thought that when I had a loaner X5 for a couple of months, it was a 45e but didn't have much spec, the interior was quite dull (though it's not bad).

It’s a great interior on a 3 series. But on a 7 series calibre vehicle? Not so sure.


But I haven’t been in one so can’t properly comment.


For example the F20 series BMW looked similar to the 3 series but when you get in them and drive them, they are quite different.
 
That’s not bad. I thought the X7 has 7 series style/level interior? No doubt the leather and touch points will be high quality.

I test drove an X5M recently and that was a significant step up over my F80.

You won’t be paying M level pricing with it being an M lite, which is probably a big part of it.
 
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That’s not bad. I thought the X7 has 7 series style/level interior? No doubt the leather and touch points will be high quality.

I test drove an X5M recently and that was a significant step up over my F80.

Some parts of it are, but it's a bit more like the X5. My 8 Series had this sort of interior too, but the G11 interior feels a step up in overall quality (for example).
 
I think if I did stay with BMW, the X5 would be big enough. I don't need 7 seats, and I think the X5 boot is big enough to have it split 50/50 for dog and luggage using a dog guard/divider.
You won’t be paying M level pricing with it being an M lite, which is probably a big part of it.
I think my F80 is currently £8-900 a year (£250 excess, breakdown cover).
 
I think if I did stay with BMW, the X5 would be big enough. I don't need 7 seats, and I think the X5 boot is big enough to have it split 50/50 for dog and luggage using a dog guard/divider.

I think my F80 is currently £8-900 a year (£250 excess, breakdown cover).

But compared to an M5 or M8, the X7 M50 is alright

I bet the XM is nuts.
 
That’s not bad. I thought the X7 has 7 series style/level interior? No doubt the leather and touch points will be high quality.

I test drove an X5M recently and that was a significant step up over my F80.
X7 interior is very high quality. Pretty much the same as the X5 just bigger/wider. That two-tone extended merino ivory/night blue interior on the M50i is just perfection
 
Long post, sorry!

I'm still learning more and more about my 320i every day (my 1st BMW for those that don't know).

Started getting the 'Battery Low' warning the other day. Put the multimeter across it and it was jumping between 12.0 and 12.4 volts. Two things sprung to mind. 1) voltage should probably be more or less constant, and 2) that voltage is way too low. Was getting 15.0v with the engine running so I know the alternator's good.

It's a '21 reg and the original battery, combined with the car being sat for a few months doing nothing in the dealership, so it's more than likely end of life. I'm surprised the car started at all. Didn't sound like it was struggling to start though.

Through reading (lots) online, I know it wasn't as simple as putting a new battery in the boot. So I bought the BimmerLink and BimmerCode apps as well as a Bluetooth OBD2 adapter and the new battery was registered flawlessly. Combined cost of battery, software and hardware probably still less than what BMW would charge for fitting a new battery, plus I have the hardware and software for life.

Then I've looked at the software version. Both the car and the MyBMW App showed the version number as 11/2020.42, so it's unlikely the software has ever been updated since originally purchased. Reading again online, there's been multiple software updates since.

Deutsche Effizienz. You'd think the app would tell you there's a software update available. The app was insistent there wasn't. So I used the iDrive in the car to search, and sure enough, it showed v07/2021.50 was available. It was once the car informed me of the available update, then the app did!

More Deutsche Effizienz. I've read online that you need to download and install each update sequentially instead of being able to update to the latest version with one download. On the plus side, I stupidly decided to install the update whilst waiting to pick my daughter up from dance class. iDrive said it'd take 20 minutes to complete (can't use the car whilst it's updating) and with 20 mins til my daughter's class finished, I went for it! It took 18 minutes.

All that aside, I'm loving the learning. And I'm still grinning from ear to ear whilst driving her. My family, neighbours, friends and colleagues are very complimentary about her. She is stunning. I've also washed/polished her more often than I have with every other car I've ever owned.
 
X5 M50i with visibility pack + laser lights are pretty rare on the AUC site. If I filter for a tow bar, I get one result! Might take me some time finding the one I want if I insist on a V8 petrol. M50D seems a more logical choice for towing and there's more around. I need to arrange to go and see one regardless of options just to get a feel and see how they drive.
 
It's not, the Porsche is slightly wider and almost 20cm longer than the Volkswagen.
Inside, it feels far smaller. The engine being mounted longitudinally and further back towards the middle takes a lot of space. Look at the X1 and the X3.
 
The Macan shares its platform with the 2008 Audi Q5 - it felt very dated to me. I had a new GTS for the day which was amazingly high spec and that compensated for it, but a lower spec example will feel quite dated.

A G05 X5 will be a much nicer car in general.

X5 M50i with visibility pack + laser lights are pretty rare on the AUC site. If I filter for a tow bar, I get one result! Might take me some time finding the one I want if I insist on a V8 petrol. M50D seems a more logical choice for towing and there's more around. I need to arrange to go and see one regardless of options just to get a feel and see how they drive.

Remember there's an X5 M as well, although we're talking more and more money!

 
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Remember there's an X5 M as well, although we're talking more and more money!
I drove one, and I wasn't a fan. Well, I was, it was fast, and went around corners like no SUV should. But the steering felt far too urgent, the slightest touch to the wheel even in comfort almost had the car changing lanes. I spoke to Joe Achilles about it and he said it's a common complaint with the newer M cars and it's due to the geo setup and it can be dialled out. I haven't driven any other G series M cars so I don't have anything to compare to, but the steering in my F80 with the GTS flash is quite heavy in comparison. Apparently BMW engineer it that way on the newer cars so people think it's got amazing steering. That's a massive risk to take though given their high cost & depreciation. That's why I'd like to drive an M lite version to see if it has the same issue. Also, I don't think you can get one with a tow bar due to the exhaust.
 
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Upgrades. Got these before about 20 people when they popped up on Cutters. Recaro sportster CS which are the BMW M Performance seats but these are in fox red custom with heated seats and airbags. Have the M embossed in heat rest too. Weirdly imgr compression has lost them in pic

Nice and low. Comfy and feels like several kg lighter per seat. These are £5k new from AMX
 
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